Royal Flying Corps

British air corps

Alternative Title:
RFC

Capt. William A. (“Billy”) Bishop, a Canadian ace who served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, posing in front of his Nieuport type 17 fighter plane, France, August 1917.William Rider-Rider—Canada Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada (PA-001651)

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development of military aircraft

In England the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) fitted some of its aircraft with bomb carriers, which consisted of a kind of pipe rack beside the observer’s cockpit in which small bombs were retained by a pin. The pin was pulled out over the target by tugging on a…

history of Royal Air Force

…May 13, 1912, a combined Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed, with naval and military wings and a Central Flying School at Upavon on Salisbury Plain. The specialized aviation requirements of the Royal Navy made it appear, however, that a separate organization was desirable, and on July 1, 1914, the…

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